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Pastor will not be charged after shooting teen during alleged burglary

Cherokee County sheriff's deputies investigated after a homeowner shot an accused burglar.

Story Highlights

The homeowner was trying to protect his wife and three girls, a neighbor said.

Two of them were in the house when the shooting happened.

The mother and oldest daughter ran to a neighbor’s house.

Police will not charge a Baptist pastor who shot a teenager accused of breaking into his Cherokee County home Thursday morning, authorities said.

Donavan Simmons, 19, of Acworth, was released from the hospital Friday and charged with burglary, making terroristic threats and possession of a Schedule IV drug with intent to distribute, Cherokee sheriff’s office spokeswoman Marianne Kelley said.

His bond was set at $16,000.

Donavan Simmons (Credit: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office)

Deputies responded to the incident about 2:40 a.m. Thursday on Santa Fe Trail. When they arrived, they found Simmons “lying in the backyard of the residence with a gunshot wound to the head,” Kelley said.

“The homeowner advised that the suspect was making entry into the basement area of his home when he shot in the general direction of the suspect,” Kelley said.

The homeowner’s church is in Bartow County, according to Channel 2 Action News.

Neighbor Bill Kennedy told Channel 2 that the homeowner was trying to protect his wife and three girls who were home during the incident.

The mother and oldest daughter ran to the neighbor’s home. The two youngest children were still in the bed, Kennedy said. The girls were not injured.